


Death of Duty

by Anonymous



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe, Don’t copy to another site, Dubious Content, F/M, Five as a villain, Sexual Content, Underage Boy in the body of a grown man, multiple character deaths
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-06-29
Updated: 2019-06-29
Packaged: 2020-05-28 19:18:21
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death, Underage
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,330
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19400677
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/
Summary: Number Five met his true love in an apocalyptic dreamworld.He’s been trying to find her ever since.





	Death of Duty

Reginald Hargreeves adopted six extraordinary children. Extraordinary in the sense that they were born without their mothers ever truly conceiving them. 

One day, forty-three women went about their lives expecting nothing out of the ordinary. Little did they know they’d end the day suddenly pregnant with a squalling infant just as quickly following suit.

The children were also extraordinary in the sense that all six of the forty-three children Reginald managed to get a hold of grew up to exhibit superhuman abilities. Thus, it only made sense (at least to the mind of an eccentric like him) to train them if only to ensure the children do not squander their potential.

“The purpose of the Academy is to save the world. One day, calamity will surely strike. In the meantime, I have made it my mission to see to it that all of you are prepared to stop it.”

It was Hargreeves’ favorite refrain. They heard it every time one of them grumbled at the arduous training, every time they argued for an extended playtime or even just a bit more time for themselves.

Number Five never really believed it. And he was sure that of his four brothers and one sister, only Luther was gullible enough to buy what Dad was selling.

This was not to mean that Five did not appreciate the training or the missions. He was ready to try any method that strengthened his abilities. And as far as Five was concerned, the missions were there to prove how much more superior he is to anyone and everyone. 

But that should not mean that “saving the world” had to be called upon whenever either he or his siblings wanted to do something outside Academy regulations.

Five was no fool. He recognized Dad as a domineering individual with an unscrupulous need to control everything around him. 

Dad kept them isolated from the world. They didn’t even know television existed until reporters flocked around them to find out what happened during the hostage situation. They certainly did not even know what it was to be with or be like other children their age.

Dad felt the need to censure Luther and Allison in front of the whole Academy (which basically composed of six students) for “fraternizing” in Allison’s room. To be honest, Five could not have cared less about what Luther and Allison were doing. They did it outside of trainings and missions. Plus, Luther and Allison had always gone along with dad, which gave them special privileges such as access to whatever trinket that caught their fancy while Five got his things as bribes rather than rewards for compliance.

So why frown upon their relationship? Because according to Dad, “Such entanglements would only confuse you. Your duty is to the Academy and to the world, first and foremost. Anything that could threaten those two priorities would be an unforgivable distraction.”

Well, it was a good thing Five had no plans to be anywhere as close to anyone as Luther and Allison are, or were judging by the chastised look on Luther’s face and the defiance on Allison’s. 

Five had little loyalty to the Academy because as far as Dad was concerned, he and the Academy were one and the same. And whenever Dad told them to live up to Academy ideals, what he really meant was not to embarrass Reginald Hargreeves. Period.

And if he felt little love for the Academy that watched him grow up under its cold and spartan care, he felt much less for the world that he was never truly a part of.

The only people he would (very reluctantly) admit to caring about are his siblings. But even on a good day, he felt like throwing things at them or (in Klaus’ case, especially) throw them out the window.

His plan was to stay in the Academy until he could legally move out. Dad would want him to stay and “save the world.” What bullshit. Dad had only acquired more wealth, power and influence since officially introducing the Academy to the world. Five knows he can do a lot better on his own. In the mean time, he’d focus on improving his powers.

That all changed when he met her. Perhaps it was inaccurate to call it a meeting. Because she only existed in his dream. One dream.

Five had been working on the possibility of using his powers for time travel. One moment, he was staring at his equations. The next, he remembered feeling like he was waking from a dream.

He hadn’t even opened his eyes yet but he felt very warm and comfortable with the feel of another body beside him.

Wait. What?

He opened his eyes to find that he was not in his bedroom. Instead, he was on an unfamiliar bed with a dark-haired girl lying on his chest.

He felt like a stranger in his own body. But it was his body. The tattoo on his arm was still there. Just that the arm no longer belonged to a teenage boy.

“Five?”

His companion was awake. He glanced her way to find that she wasn’t a girl. She was a full grown woman.

She must have read the confusion on his face because she gave him a reassuring smile. She caressed his check and Five was horrified to find himself leaning into her touch. This body was doing it out of habit.

“I’m Vanya. You don’t remember me. But you told me to prepare myself for this. You said this might help you.”

Before he could even decipher what she meant, Vanya straddled him. It was only then that he realized they were both naked. That realization along with the sight of Vanya on top of him had him speechless. Her movements left most of her hair going over her left shoulder to cover a breast.

This is not to say that obscuring one distracted him from openly staring at the other. At the back of his mind, Five thought that his mouth was still wide open. That only made it easier for Vanya to slip her tongue in. 

When Five heard about French kissing from Klaus, he thought it to be disgusting. But now, having experienced Vanya’s tongue stroking his, he was left panting and wanting more.

He was hard. And Vanya did not fail to notice that. A mere touch threatened an explosion and Five found himself excited to know what she’d do next.

It was true that he’d touched himself whenever the need took him alone at night. Five had been ashamed of having those distracting thoughts and actions take away from time he could have spent resting and planning how he could get stronger. But it was a need that he continued to indulge.

Five had never seriously thought of doing it with someone. So it was a surprise to know how wonderful it felt to have another person make him feel this good. This alive. His heart felt like it was ready to burst before Vanya took hold of him and slowly guided him inside her body.

When she moved as if she was getting off of him, he honestly thought she was going to leave him. So he grabbed her by the hips. That earned him a smile and he soon found out she wasn’t going anywhere.

The sight of her above him. Her fair skin flushed, her breasts following her body’s movements, it was the most beautiful thing he had ever seen. And it was permanently seared into his brain. 

When they were finished, Vanya put on a tattered coat that was much too big for her and insisted on helping him dress. Perhaps it was because they just had sex. Because Five, who had slapped and shunned nannies for the same offer of help since he was four, let her.

It was disconcerting to have someone look at him with love and adoration like Vanya did. As if he was her world and she would walk through fire just to get to him.

They then walked out of the house, “their” house, according to Vanya. If he didn’t know he was dreaming and if Vanya wasn’t with him, the world outside would have left him devastated.

Because it was the appropriate reaction to a world left in ruins and ashes. It appeared it was just the two of them. All alone in the world.

But Vanya remained cheerful. She took him to one of the few buildings still left standing. The Argyle Public Library. Five had never heard of it but it had an impressive collection of mostly intact books.

Vanya said that Five was teaching her to read. 

According to her, she lived her whole life in a dark basement cell until Five found her. They became lovers some time after.

No wonder she treated him the way she did. A good person would have pitied her. 

She wasn’t afraid of the outside world because she didn’t know any better. She lived her whole life alone in a cell. So anything outside it would be considered a vast improvement.

So by that logic, Five was simply preferable to an underground cell. With everyone else dead, he was the only person she could turn to. Dreamworld Five and Five himself, knew that. But it didn’t stop him from taking advantage. A good person, a person who would fit the image of an Academy student would have given her more time to process her experience.

But Five was never that person.

Over time, Vanya would upend his perception of her. She was a disciplined student. Nothing was allowed to interrupt study time. He received his first “No,” when he tried unbuttoning her blouse in the middle of geometry. 

To his surprise, Five was actually pleased with her display of will and his own reaction to it. Because he liked her defying him when she really wanted something instead of complying to his every wish and demand.

It made him feel less of a monster.

But after study time, she was more than happy to have him fuck her on top of her beloved books. She had no special preference for where they did it. They were living in the apocalypse after all so there was really no one to catch them in the act, not that Vanya had even considered other people’s existence.

Besides, surviving the apocalypse was busy work. Sex and study time were simply pastimes they could indulge in once the daily grind of sourcing and growing food, mending clothes, patching their house and all other pressing details were dealt with.

He spent months living this way with her in that apocalyptic dreamworld. It was undoubtedly a hard life. But it was a dream and he spent it with her. For the first time in his life, someone actually mattered to him. And someone really gave a damn about him. Five had never felt this happy in the waking world.

But it wasn’t all sunshine and roses with Vanya either. She would sometimes wake up screaming, thinking that she was back underground. And she would be almost inconsolable. The next day, she wouldn’t be able to get herself out of bed.

On one such day, he thought to surprise her. He found a coat just her size and intact. So he discarded her ratty, oversized one.

It did not go over well.

“That was mine! How could you just throw it away!” 

Hurt that she didn’t appreciate his efforts, he stormed out and resolved not to return for a full day.

Unfortunately, that was when he woke up.

And no matter how many times he went back to sleep, Five never got back to Vanya.

For the first few months, no one wanted to be around him. But because his adopted father was a control freak, he was made to participate in trainings and missions.

Telling someone about his dream was out of the question. Klaus would blurt it out accidentally in the most inopportune moment. Diego was not into listening. Luther would report it to Dad. And so would Pogo and Grace. Allison would use it as black mail material (Five learned early to jump away as soon as he heard her catchphrase and she’d jump at the opportunity to have something on him). And Ben, Ben had enough on his mind to be of any help to him.

Besides, how do you explain that you missed someone who only existed in your dreams?

Strangely enough, it was Ben who brought him comfort. They were nearing their seventeenth birthday when Ben came up to him.

“You’ve been spending too much time in your room. Why don’t you go out? I know you’ve already read every time travel book in Dad’s library. So why not try a new library? The Argyle Public Library just opened.”

It then occurred to Five that perhaps he hadn’t been dreaming. What if he somehow transferred his consciousness into the future? If that were true, then Vanya could be underground somewhere in this city. 

So as soon as he turned seventeen, he unceremoniously moved out of the house despite the old man’s protests and reminder of his duty to save the world.

The world meant nothing to him without Vanya beside him.

Five soon concluded that the side of law and order wouldn’t be much help to him. It was too rigid in its methods. And he needed wiggle room and flexibility to achieve his ends. It wasn’t as if anyone would just up and confess to holding a young girl in the basement. And that’s the only time the police in this city would act.

So he developed underworld contacts and a bit of a reputation for himself. He took on many jobs that sent him to many places to do deeds no one with any sense would admit even while alone in the dark. His siblings refused to speak to him after they found out.

Throughout the years he amassed wealth and power (in the form of influence and actual weapons), but still not even a whisper of Vanya.

The Umbrella Academy was past its glory days. With Five going “dark side,” some would even say that the Academy was a fraud to begin with. That was unfair because Five took on jobs that put him against his own siblings. Hence, them finding out and never speaking to him.

If he felt guilt for hurting them, it was overshadowed by his need to find and rescue Vanya. But it was beginning to look like he did it all for nothing.

Ben died on a mission. Thankfully, it wasn’t a mission that Five had anything to do with. But none of the others wanted him at Ben’s funeral.

Soon after, the Academy disbanded. Five wanted to think his siblings would live better lives outside of Dad’s control. But who was he kidding? 

Klaus OD’d for the final time and stayed dead. Five knew better but he decided to double check. The Academy had enemies after all. But in the end, it really was just an overdose that killed him.

Diego got kicked out of the police academy and was later killed, shot while in the middle of his lone vigilante act.

Allison went to LA like she always dreamed. And apparently used her powers to get whatever she wanted, even her new husband. But her husband found out and killed her in her sleep.

Luther was the one who stayed with Dad the longest. But he killed himself. Five later found out that a mission almost sent Luther to the grave. Dad saved him with a serum. Unfortunately, Luther would much rather die than live with the side effects.

Now, with all his siblings dead, Reginald Hargreeves decides to summon him. Five wanted to reject the “invitation.” But with being no closer to Vanya, he decided to accept for the hell of it. Maybe a shouting match with Dad would energize him.

Reginald Hargreeves had markedly aged since Five left home. Five would have liked to think it was because Dad truly mourned his adopted children. But that would imply Reginald Hargreeves could register emotions other than anger and disappointment.

From the looks of him, Dad was dying. And there was no one left other than Number Five to impart a dangerous secret. 

Apparently, Reginald adopted seven children. The seventh child’s power manifested early. And its potential for destruction was so great that it had to be sent to live away from people, lest the stress and sound from thousands of people cause the child to inadvertently destroy the world.

Five felt his hackles rising. And his feeling of dread only grew when Reginald lead him down a basement Five never even knew existed.

Reginald has apparently tried to kill the child with poison and starvation. But she continued to live. 

Five could see that no one had been in the basement for years.

Reginald opened a slot on the wall. When Five immediately peered inside, a figure slowly went towards the light. He was sure that she was unused to light and couldn’t see him. But Five could clearly see her. Vanya.

“Who’s there? Please don’t leave.”

He couldn’t hear her but he could read her lips well enough. He imagined a slight catch in her voice and it broke his heart. But he closed the slot just the same. Five didn’t want Vanya to even get a hint of what he wanted to do.

“Number Five, I’ve come to the conclusion that you’re the only one who can terminate Number Seven. I should not have allowed her to live this long and to let her out of the cell would only trigger her destructive powers. She has lived most of her life in isolation and to bring her to an environment outside the stability of the cell would endanger the world and herself.”

Five looked his adopted father in the eye. For all his arrogance and hypocrisy, Five valued Reginald Hargreeves’ assessment of the children’s powers. Five didn’t know how Reginald knew what he knew.

But he doubted Reginald was lying when he said that taking Vanya outside would kill everyone and herself. She had lived in a soundproof cell almost all her life, the sudden influx of new sounds and sensations would overwhelm her. 

She needed a stable environment. There was no way Vanya could live in the world as it was now. Even if he were to manage to find a remote place with just the two of them, the world would find it and end whatever paradise they made.

Maybe if Reginald had decided to train Vanya earlier, she might have had a chance to live outside in a world filled with billions of beating hearts and breaths. But at this point, the echo of a billion lives would just cause her to explode.

So Five made a choice.

With his siblings gone, it wasn't that hard. 

He had reached a level of success that made attaining multiple weapons of mass destruction a piece of cake. Having people install them around the world and detonating them was even easier (especially when no one but Five knew multiple operations were happening at once)

And thanks to Dad’s newest invention, medication that completely negates the effects of radiation, he didn’t have to wait much longer to get Vanya out of her cell.

He wanted their first meeting to be perfect. But it all crumbled at the sight of her. By now, she knew someone was watching her. And she was prepared for one other beating heart.

Her eyes were still adjusting to the light. But she could hear just fine. 

“Who are you?”

Vanya was only wearing a shift and she was shivering.

So he took off his coat and had her wear it. It was much too big for her.

“Like this coat, I’m yours.”

THE END


End file.
